How to overturn city ordinances

The city of Kalamazoo has an ordinance prohibiting ownership of any "constrictor reptiles." The wording of the appropriate portions are as follows:

Definition:
Exotic/wild animal: Any undomesticated animal or any dangerous animal normally classified as wild. In addition, this specifically includes, but is not limited to, the following animals: non-domestically bred parrots, parakeets or other exotic birds, Canada geese, alligators, bears, birds of prey, monkeys, panthers, cougars, lions, wolves, coyotes, chimpanzees, venomous or constrictor reptiles, and wild felines. In addition, it shall include any hybrid between a wild animal and a domesticated animal, such as a hybrid between a dog and a wolf, a dog and a coyote, a cat and a bobcat, or other wild feline.

By this definition, cornsnakes are illegal!

Ordinance:
Sec. 7-7. Exotic/Wild animals.
It shall be unlawful for any person, other than a publicly maintained and supervised zoo or zoological garden, a licensed and authorized circus, an accredited and licensed educational institution, or an accredited and licensed medical or pharmaceutical laboratory maintained and operated by a corporation, firm, hospital, or health maintenance organization in which there is a laboratory for the primary benefit of human health care, to keep and maintain, or permit to be kept or maintained, any exotic or wild animal as deemed in Section 7-3(f).

Does anybody have any advice for how I would go about getting this ordinance repealed or changed?

Thanks.

Lots of money in politicians pockets?

Originally Posted by collisonzoo

Does anybody have any advice for how I would go about getting this ordinance repealed or changed?

An online review of the word 'constrictor' brings primarily examples of boas and pythons and it is possible that this phrase in your statute has been defined this way elsewhere in the city code.
Look up case law to see if there have been any cases which would provide a common law interpretation of the phrase in the statute. Given that this is not a tiny city and there may be pet shops/pet owners that have had this question prior to you, there may well be.

Instead of doing this yourself, you might get out the yellow pages and make a list of large pet stores especially any which deal in reptiles, and they may know the answer. If they give you a satisfactory answer, double check it yourself: persist until you see it, somewhere, in writing.

To answer your original question, there are ways to attack the ordinance itself, but it is MUCH easier to check first and see whether the statute as it stands has already been interpreted in a way that permits you to have certain snakes.

Lots of money in politicians pockets?

Maybe I can offer them a commission on every "constrictor" I sell!

Unfortunately, there are no pet stores actually in city limits. I think that this is, at least in part, because of this ordinance. We have several pet stores in the area, but all of them are in townships or the city of Portage. (One of them is only half a block from the city line!) I will do some more legwork to see if there are other definitions out there, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to try to get the ordinance changed. We are outside city limits, so our animals are legal unless we move, but we know several people who live in city limits and can't keep their snakes.

Thanks for the help!

I have regaled on some of my changing city ordnances. One was of my city involving python owner ship and me selling in my pet store. The other was of my home town of city ordnance of constrictors. The pet store thing was of my advantage as to meeting with city zoning as to enough laws and law of housing as to apartments and rented condos and the like where they had their own laws against and no need for additional laws. I over turned that law of city wide as to being not enforcible and ANY colubrid could be deemed as a constrictor almost. The same with my home city law passing. Even though I was not able to change the larger size of constrictor as in feet of length of 8 to 9 foot, i was able and another very influent person to allow below that length as legal. AND there was a grandfathering law in effect. Again I didn't waist my time on animal control but of the city zoning commission. Note : watch out for the grandfathering law, it CAN be costly and a foot hold down the road for you but for them as well. Consider a document of known deaths or maiming of ALL animals of your city or even of your state ! Tell them you want PROOF of such and not a perceive future problem. ASK them if keeping of such animals would make a kid a criminal of keeping a corn snake or a ball python. Watch their heads spin. Ask them how it would be an public awareness situation of such a law. Ask them how they could or would even enforce such a law with other many law enforcement problems already taking a toll on the any branch of any law enforcement agencies. Ask them who is going to pay for a special branch of such enforcement or who foots the bill for a reptile cop ? Ask them what training the average cop will have to have to determine a species of constrictor or if even a animal control agency knowing what species of constrictors would constitute an enforcement issue. A corn snake, a king snake, a rosy boa, a ball python, etc.LOL !